We've arrived in Sydney. So far each place we've visited I've loved more than the previous, and so it is with Sydney. What a fabulous city!
I was not planning on being impressed with Sydney at all. In fact, we nearly omitted Australia from our trip entirely. Ultimately we decided though that we were so close we might as well stop over and see some of it. And as it turns out, I wish we would have planned on much more time in Sydney and all of Australia. I always thought that Australia was probably just like the US and so it held little intrigue for me. And it is very much like the US, which is probably why I like it so much, only it's better in many ways!
The beauty of the country (though we've seen just bits) can not be overstated. And in a country roughly the size of the US, its population is just 20 million versus our 300 million. And it's clean, really clean. The people are quirky and funny and welcoming and upbeat.
Sydney is unlike any city I've been to, we tried to seek comparisons, but there are none. It seems to have aspects of all the cities we love. There are mass amounts of coastline, rugged cliffs, sandy beaches, beautiful harbors, clear blue/green waters, nearby islands. There are so many gorgeous neighborhoods and suburbs, lots of park space, amazing museums, incredible shopping, fantastic architecture, historical buildings, world class entertainment opportunities, the list goes on and on. The central business district is like most big cities, but once you leave that area, Sydney stands alone.
We are staying in Bondi Beach, right on the beach. Some people love Bondi, some people hate Bondi. I'm falling into the love it category. Sure, it's touristy, but so is Venice Beach, and I love Venice. It's not all dressed up, it's a bit gritty and that's part of the charm to me. The beach itself is gorgeous, though much smaller than I expected. The strip lining the beach is full of tourist shops and inexpensive eateries (most of them quite good actually). But once you get off the main strip there are many interesting side streets with locals shops and restaurants.
I didn't research Sydney much and I had to get my bearings, the city is enormous and sprawling split up with much water in between. Since our time is so limited here we decided to hop on a double decker tourist bus to give us an overview and lay of the land. We felt a bit silly, but it turned out to be a fanastic way to orient ourselves, see the major sites and learn a bit at the same time. We rode up top and Elle and Liam loved it! We snapped a few pictures, none of them great. Over the next several days we will take time to go back and see closer a few of our favorites.
The opera house is simply spectacular and it truly lives up to the hype. We are hoping to be able to go back for an opera on Saturday night, I can't imagine a better way to celebrate being in Sydney.
I was not planning on being impressed with Sydney at all. In fact, we nearly omitted Australia from our trip entirely. Ultimately we decided though that we were so close we might as well stop over and see some of it. And as it turns out, I wish we would have planned on much more time in Sydney and all of Australia. I always thought that Australia was probably just like the US and so it held little intrigue for me. And it is very much like the US, which is probably why I like it so much, only it's better in many ways!
The beauty of the country (though we've seen just bits) can not be overstated. And in a country roughly the size of the US, its population is just 20 million versus our 300 million. And it's clean, really clean. The people are quirky and funny and welcoming and upbeat.
Sydney is unlike any city I've been to, we tried to seek comparisons, but there are none. It seems to have aspects of all the cities we love. There are mass amounts of coastline, rugged cliffs, sandy beaches, beautiful harbors, clear blue/green waters, nearby islands. There are so many gorgeous neighborhoods and suburbs, lots of park space, amazing museums, incredible shopping, fantastic architecture, historical buildings, world class entertainment opportunities, the list goes on and on. The central business district is like most big cities, but once you leave that area, Sydney stands alone.
We are staying in Bondi Beach, right on the beach. Some people love Bondi, some people hate Bondi. I'm falling into the love it category. Sure, it's touristy, but so is Venice Beach, and I love Venice. It's not all dressed up, it's a bit gritty and that's part of the charm to me. The beach itself is gorgeous, though much smaller than I expected. The strip lining the beach is full of tourist shops and inexpensive eateries (most of them quite good actually). But once you get off the main strip there are many interesting side streets with locals shops and restaurants.
I didn't research Sydney much and I had to get my bearings, the city is enormous and sprawling split up with much water in between. Since our time is so limited here we decided to hop on a double decker tourist bus to give us an overview and lay of the land. We felt a bit silly, but it turned out to be a fanastic way to orient ourselves, see the major sites and learn a bit at the same time. We rode up top and Elle and Liam loved it! We snapped a few pictures, none of them great. Over the next several days we will take time to go back and see closer a few of our favorites.
The opera house is simply spectacular and it truly lives up to the hype. We are hoping to be able to go back for an opera on Saturday night, I can't imagine a better way to celebrate being in Sydney.
I knew it everyone I have spoke to haved loved it!!!
ReplyDeleteNow I really want to go.!!!!!!!
But please consider Savannah!!!! LOL
Sounds great and am so glad you are loving it.
Once again kisses and hugs to all.
Love ya, miss ya
Sydney sounds wonderful! Enjoy your time there and I can't wait to see more pics! Miss you! xo
ReplyDeleteI knew you would love Sydney. I know I LOVED it. I told your mom we could go it was only a 24 hour flight, (I got the LOOK). But I knew you would love it. It is just amazing everything is so the same but different. They have our technology but seem to be years behind. Just really hard to explain. Have fun. I loved everything about Australia. We went to the zoo and got to see were Bindy had her show and that was neat too. I hope to visit again someday.
ReplyDelete